This policy report seeks to contribute to further development of measurement/monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) modalities and methodologies by providing conceptual clarification of MRV and outlining 16 case studies of MRV schemes. The concept of MRV is described as entailing multiple types, which should be distinguished to avoid conceptual confusion. The report identifies four MRV levels, which are all different in their purpose and nature: organisational, project, national and policies. Additionally, methodologies and experience at one level may not be immediately applicable at another level (for example, MRV methodology at the project level is not applicable at the policy level). Other key messages include the following.

MRV needs to strike the right balance between simplicity and stringency depending on the context and objectives of the scheme.
Many Asian developing countries (notably China, India and Indonesia) are implementing policies to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Many programmes and policies are put forward as nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) to seek international support, but some countries (such as China and India) are implementing domestic policies and measures. The quality of MRV processes attached to such policies is sometimes questionable in terms of data quality and practicality.
MRV requires technical capacities, as well as coordinating and research capacity to understand best practices. Capacity building activities in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia indicate the continued need for local government capacity building.
Improving the availability of basic data, such as default values, is critical to simplify MRV processes.
MRV in cities should be an integral part of urban policies. However, these may not provide sufficient incentives for the city governments to implement robust city-level MRV and GHG emissions reduction.
To enhance community based MRV, local governments should develop supportive policies and benchmarks, including financial/technical assistance; and project partners must work closely with communities to develop local capacity for data development and collection in compliance with required criteria.
Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) can play an important role for MRV in waste and building sectors. LCA is a useful technique for GHG accounting and identifying the possible mitigation options throughout a product’s lifespan.